Trey Burke
Alfonso Clark "Trey" Burke III (born November 12, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 9th overall pick in the2013 NBA Draft and immediately traded to the Jazz. Burke played two seasons of college basketball for the University of Michigan, when he was first team All-American and the Consensus National Player of the Year. He also won the Bob Cousy Award. Burke led the Big Ten in assists and set the Michigan single-season assists record. Bukre also led his team to the championship game of the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Shortly after the tournament he declared his eligibility for the draft. After being traded to the Jazz, Burke suffered a broken finger late in the preseason. He missed almost a month of the regular season before making his debut. He became a starter in his third game with the team. As a rookie he won the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge and went on to finish third in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award balloting. Early Life and Family Burke is the second child and only son of Ronda and Alfonso "Benji" Burke II. He has an older sister Amber and an younger sister Amani. By the age of 5, Burke's local youth basketball league had to change its rules so that he would not keep stealing the ball from the other team. As a result of his prowess, he was not allowed over half court when the other team had the ball. He became Jared Sullinger's best friend in fourth grade, but when his mother was transferred to Atlanta in sixth grade they were separated. The reassignment only lasted one year, however. At the age of nine, Burke's father made him do everything with his left hand, including brushing his teeth and eating dinner, in order to develop his ambidexterity. High School during the 2009 OHSAA Division I State Championship game]] Jared Sullinger's father, Satch Sullinger, was the coach at Northland High School, while Burke's father was an assistant coach at Eastmoor Academy. Burke chose Northland because he felt he had a better chance to succeed due to their personnel. Burke gave a verbal commitment to Penn State in 2009 after receiving his first Big Ten Conference offer, but later changed his mind to Michigan. Burke made the high school varsity team as a freshman, but did not play much. Between his freshman and sophomore years, his summer league team was defeated when Darian Cartharn scored 35 points against them. Cartharn had been trained by Anthony Rhodman, so Burke sought his tutelage. Burke became a regular client of Rhodman's despite his hectic scholastic, training and competition schedules. He trained regularly with Cartharn twice a day. Because he was a year younger, he was unable to compete with Sullinger in AAU competition, and Sullinger became an AAU teammate of point guard Aaron Craft. By the end of the summer Burke got his first scholarship offer, from Akron. The AAU duo of Sullinger and Craft eventually committed along with two other AAU teammates to Thad Matta's Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team, who also signed point guard Shannon Scott. As a sophomore, Burke made 5 of 6 free throws in overtime to help his team defeat Dublin Scioto High School by a 54–53 margin in a 2009 OHSAA Division I regional final. In the state championship game, he made one of two free throws to give Northland a 58–56 lead with 27.6 seconds left in what became a 60–58 win over Princeton High School. He also made the pass to set up the final game-winning points, although they were scored from the foul line by Sullinger. During the championship season, Burke averaged 10.7 points and 9.1 assists, and made only 1.7 turnovers per game. In his junior season, Burke, Sulllinger and another player, J. D. Weatherspoon, were dominant. That season they defeated both of the top two 2008–09 year-end teams (Oak Hill Academy and Findlay Prep). Northland was undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation by ESPN HS before they fell in the 2010 OHSAA regional finals to Lincoln High School. They had also been ranked #1 by USA Today for several weeks, but they fell out of the top 10 with the season-ending loss. Before his senior season, Burke signed his National Letter of Intent with Michigan in the November signing period. Coming off a 23–1 season, after losing Sullinger and Weatherspoon to Ohio State, Northland entered Burke's senior season ranked #44 in the nation according to ESPN HS. Following a 26–2 season, the team finished #45 in the ESPN HS poll. During Burke's career, Northland was 97–5, including 57–0 in City League games. Burke was a 2009 OHSAA Division I State Champion, a PARADE magazine All-America (2011, second team) and 2011 Associated Press Ohio Mr. Basketball. He was ranked as the 15th, 20th and 26th best high school point guard in the class of 2011 by ESPN.com, Scout.com and Rivals.com, respectively. Most elite level high school basketball players participate in the summer Amateur Athletic Union circuit as a complement to scholastic competition. Burke played in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national competitions with All-Ohio Red, coached by Benji Burke, his father. The team won the AAU U16 National Title in 2009 and finished as runner-up in the 2008 AAU U15 National tournament. College career 'Freshman year' As he entered his freshman season at Micihgan, the Wolverines team lost 2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season assist leader, point guard Darius Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2011 NBA Draft. This left Michigan with a vacant starting point guard position. In December 2011, he was named one of nearly 60 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, which recognizes the Collegiate Point Guard of the Year. On January 4, Burke was named as one of the twenty Cousy Award Finalists along with fellow Big Ten point guards Aaron Craft and Jordan Taylor. , assists, steals and blocks. (2011-12-10)]] Burke led all Big Ten freshman in scoring (edging Cody Zeller by a 15.8–15.5 margin or 5 points over the 18-game conference season) and assists per conference game.54 He concluded the season as the team leader in points, assists, blocks (not blocks per game) and steals. Burke debuted in the season opener for the 2011–12 Wolverines against Ferris State on November 11 with 3 points in 18 minutes,27 but did not start until the second game against Towson on November 14 when he tallied 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Burke was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his 36 points and 18 assists during the tournament on November 28. On January 2, Burke earned his first Big Ten Conference Player of the Week honor and his third Freshman of the Week recognition for his 40-point week in Michigan's two conference openers. During the game (Michigan's 30th of the season), Burke broke Gary Grant's school freshman assists record set over the course of 30 games for the 1984–85 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team by pushing his total to 143 on that night.50 On March 5 he earned his third consecutive and seventh overall Freshman of the Week honor when he averaged 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in road wins against Illinois and Penn State that clinched a share of the 2011–12 Big Ten Conference regular season championship.515253 Following the season, Okafor was named earned the 2011–12 Big Ten Freshman of the Year award from the Big Ten media (Cody Zeller earned the Big Ten coaches' award) and was named to the 2011–12 All-Big Ten 2nd team by the coaches and media as well as named unanimously to the 2011–12 Big Ten All-Freshman team. Burke was a second team selection to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All‐District 7 team on March 14. Burke was named an honorable mention Associated Press All-American. Burke finished with 156 assists, and his single-season total of 1,227 minutes ranked second in school history.20 Burke's freshman season came to an end when the Wolverine lost to Ohio in their first game in the 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament. On April 9, Burke announced he would return to Michigan for his sophomore season instead of staying in the NBA draft.78 He decided to wait in hopes of becoming a more likely first round selection.79 During the summer, he spent 5–6 hour days with his trainer in Ohio. Sophomore year One year after enrolling, Burke had improved his vertical jump 4 inches (10.2 cm).5 Entering his sophomore season, he was selected as a third team preseason All-American by Sporting News.80 CBS Sports listed him as a second team preseason All-American and the 9th best player in its preseason top 100.8182 CBS also named him the third best point guard (behind Isaiah Canaan and Phil Pressey).83 ESPN and Sports Illustrated also named him to their preseason All-American second teams.8485 16 of the 65Associated Press selectors named Burke to their first team preseason All-American team, which tied him for the fifth spot on the 6-man AP preseason All-American team.86 The Big Ten conference media selected him as a preseason All-Big Ten selection.87 Burke was both a preseason John R. Wooden Award top 50 selection and a preseason Naismith Award top 50 selection.8889 Burke was suspended for the exhibition opener for "violation of team standards. Burke finished the 18-game 2012–13 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season schedule as the conference games leader in both scoring average and assist average and finished second in steals per game.124 He was Michigan's first conference games scoring leader since Glen Rice in 1989 and Michigan's first conference games assist leader since Gary Grant in 1988.125 Burke was the only player to score 15 points in all 18 conference games. Prior to the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com named Michigan with Burke first among tournament teams in terms of having the most future NBA talent on its roster (in the absence of Kentucky who was relegated to the 2013 National Invitation Tournament). On March 29 against Kansas, Burke recorded his fourth career double-double, with 23 points and 10 assists.130 He scored all 23 points in the second half and overtime,130131 including a game-tying deep three-pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining.131 Burke describes the 28-foot (8.5 m) shot as "...probably the biggest shot I ever made and definitely a shot I'll always remember."132 He also scored a layup with his team trailing by 5 points with 21 seconds remaining.133 Burke scored eight points in the final 1:15 of regulation time,130 as Michigan posted a 14–4 run in the final 2:52 to force overtime.131 He also gave the team its first lead since very early in the game in overtime with a three-point shot.131 It marked the first time that a player had 20 or more points and 10 or more assists in a Sweet Sixteen game since Billy Donovan did so in the 1986 tournament for Rick Pitino's Providence Friars. Burke scored 24 points in the April 8 championship game against Louisville and made the 7-man All-Tournament team (which was revised multiple times) along with teammates McGary and Albrecht. Burke finished his sophomore season with 1,231 points, surpassing the former school record for sophomore season career point total of 1,218 by Chris Webber.120145 His final total of 260 assists established the Michigan career record,146 and his average of 6.7 assists per game led the Big Ten.147 Burke was a consensus first team 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American. He also earned Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2013 and was a unanimous 2012–13 All-Big Ten 1st team selection. He also earned almost all the possible National Player of the Year awards (Wooden, AP, NABC, Naismith,Robertson and Sports Illustrated) as well as the Bob Cousy Award. Professional career 2013 NBA Draft Burke stated on March 27 that he would almost certainly enter the draft if Michigan won the national title.192 On April 9 before boarding the airplane to return from the NCAA Final Four, head coach Beilein met with Burke, Hardaway, Robinson and McGary to direct them to seek the advice of the NBA advisory committee. The draft board had until April 15 to develop each individual report and the players have until April 28 to enter the draft.193 On April 13, reports surfaced that Burke would announce that he would enter the NBA Draft at a press conference the following day.194 On April 14, he entered the 2013 NBA Draft.146195 Within days of entering the draft, some draft analysts, such as ESPN's David Thorpe, said that Burke should be the first overall selection in the draft: "Burke might not have the prototypical physical attributes of an NBA superstar, but if the team that lands the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NBA draft does not have its long-term point guard already in place, it should select Burke without hesitation."196 He was expected to be the first point guard taken, especially since Marcus Smart opted out of the draft.197 By early May, several NBA general managers acknowledged the possibility of Burke going #1 overall.198199 Burke's father became his agent.200 Burke was one of 60 players invited to the NBA Draft Combine.201 Before the draft, Burke was expected to post better NBA combine numbers than Chris Paul.5 At the combine, Burke strengthened his case for the number one overall draft selection with his physical measurements and his athletic results.202Burke was invited to sit in the "green room" during the 2013 NBA Draft.203 Most mock drafts, including Draft Express,204 NBA Draft.net,205 The Times-Picayune,206 Yahoo! Sports,207 and Bleacher Report,208 predicted that Burke would be selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 6th overall selection. He was in contact with Orlando who had rights to the second overall draft pick and Phoenix, New Orleans, Sacramento and Detroit, who owned the fifth through eighth selections.209 On June 27, 2013, Burke was selected 9th in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves and then traded to the Utah Jazz for the 14th and 21st picks, which were used to select Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng.210211 Burke and Hardaway Jr. became the first Michigan duo selected in the first round since Juwan Howard and Jalen Rosein the 1994 NBA Draft. Burke also became the first Wolverine selection in the top 10 of the first round since Jamal Crawford in the 2000 NBA Draft.212213 In addition, Burke joined Indiana University players Victor Oladipo (2nd) and Cody Zeller (4th) to give the Big Ten its first top ten first round trio since the 1990 NBA Draft.214 Utah Jazz (2013–present)edit 2013–14 seasonedit On July 6, Burke signed a maximum rookie contract—120 percent of the preset salary scale of $2,032,300—with the Jazz, resulting in a contract worth in $4,987,320 guaranteed salary for his first two seasons, while the Jazz have team option rights for the third and fourth years. This cleared the way for Burke to participate in the July 7–12 Orlando Summer League.215 At point guard, the Jazz had traded Randy Foye and were negotiating with Mo Williams.216 In the NBA Summer League, Trey Burke shot at 24 percent from the field, including 1–19 on three-point shots, while trying to adjust to the pace of the NBA game.217 He was even benched for a game.218 Following Burke's Summer League performance, the Jazz signed John Lucas III.216 On October 12, Burke broke his right index finger below the middle knuckle.219220 He had been a favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year,221222223 but was listed as out indefinitely.219220 On October 14, an October 15 surgery to insert surgical pins was announced. The 2013–14 Jazz were scheduled to begin the 2013–14 NBA season on October 30. Although early reports suggested an 8–12 week hiatus, ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard reported only a 6-week absence was expected.224 On November 11, Burke's finger was reevaluated.225Without Burke, the Jazz began the season 0–8 with Lucas and Jamaal Tinsley playing point guard. On November 12, the Jazz announced that Burke had only been cleared to begin individual drills, that he would be reevaluated November 25 and that Tinsley had been waived.226227 Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin reported that by November 13 Burke was dribbling a basketball painfree.228 On November 20, Burke announced he would make his career debut against the New Orleans Pelicans for the 1–11 Jazz, but he was not expected to start.229 Burke debuted for the Jazz on November 20 with 11 points on 5–8 shooting in 12 minutes of play.230 His first basket was a left-handed finish on a drive down the lane and his first assist was a pick and roll with Derrick Favors.231 Ironically, Burke's second game was against the 2013 NBA draft 18th overall selection Shane Larkin and the Dallas Mavericks. Point guard Larkin returned to action two days before Burke did after injuring his ankle prior to summer league.232 In his second game, Burke posted 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but struggled with only 5 points on 8 shots during 20 minutes of play.233234 Burke started in his third game. He again played for 20 minutes, but only tallied four points and four assists.235 Burke experienced his first NBA win in his fourth game and second start on November 25 against a Chicago Bulls team that lost former NBA Most Valuable Player Award Derrick Rose for the season due to an injury in their prior game. Burke had 3 assists and established career highs with 14 points and 6 rebounds in 34 minutes of play.236 On November 30, he had his first 20-point scoring performance, leading the Jazz to their first road victory of the season against the Phoenix Suns.237 With career highs of 21 points and 6 assists, Burke helped the Jazz record their first back-to-back wins of the season on December 2 against the Houston Rockets.238 Burke then tallied 9 assists on December 4 against the Indiana Pacers.239 Although Burke had 7 assists on December 7 againstSacramento, he nonetheless posted his first professional double double with a game-high 10 rebounds and 19 points.240241 On December 13 against the Denver NuggetsBurke had 10 points and 10 assists while posting just 1 turnover to log his first assists-points double-double.242243 On December 18 against the Orlando Magic, Burke not only scored a career-high 30 points while posting 8 assists and 7 rebounds, but he also became the first rookie to score 30 points during the 2013–14 NBA season.244 Burke was the first rookie to post at least a 30-point, 7-rebound, and 8-assist game since Blake Griffin on April 13, 2011 (31/10/10) and the first to do so in his first 20 career games since Alvan Adams on November 14, 1975 (35/12/8). Burke was named Western Conference NBA Rookie of the Month for December, becoming the first Rookie of the Month honoree for the Jazz franchise since Karl Malone in December 1985.245 On January 15, Burke had 11 assists and 17 points against the San Antonio Spurs.246 On January 17 against Detroit, Burke had 20 points, a career-high 12 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block,247 giving him consecutive point-assist double-doubles.248 On January 29, he was named aRising Stars Challenge participant as part of the 2014 NBA All-Star Game weekend.249 Burke led all rookies by averaging 6.8 assists in January, to earn Western Conference Rookie of the Month.248 On February 15, Burke won the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge with partner Damian Lillard.250 Burke was one of three finalists for February Western Conference Rookie of the Month, but he lost to Nick Calathes.251 He was again a Western Conference Rookie of the Month finalist in March.252 On April 6, he scored 24 points and posted a career-high 15 assists against the Golden State Warriors.253 On April 16, he ended the season with a career-high 32 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.254 Two days later, he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month, earning his third such award.255 Burke finished third in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award balloting behind Carter-Williams and Oladipo.256257 As a result of his third-place finish in the separate NBA All-Rookie Team voting he was a first team NBA All-Rookie selection.258259 2014–15 seasonedit Burke committed to represent the Jazz in 2014 NBA Summer League.260 On July 18, he was named to practice with the USA Basketball National Select Team from July 28–31.261 On October 24, 2014, the Jazz exercised their third-year team option on his rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2015–16 season.262 On November 14, Burke made a buzzer beater to give Utah a 102–100 victory over the New York Knicks.263 On January 2, he tied Antoine Walker's NBA record for worst single-game three point shooting performance, 0-for-11.264265 Burke scored a season-high 28 points on January 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves who had traded the 9th overall selection of the 2013 NBA draft to the Utah Jazz that they used to select Burke.266 On January 22, the Jazz announced that Burke would not start despite being healthy, making way forDante Exum's first start at point guard. This gave Burke the role of scorer and leader of the reserves.267 With the shakeup, the 14–28 Jazz won their next two games against theMilwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets.268269 It was the first time in Burke's basketball career that he had not been a starter.269 2015–16 seasonedit During the 2015 offseason, Burke was named as a participant in the first-ever NBA Africa Game.270 On October 17, 2015, the Jazz exercised their fourth-year team option on his rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.271 After Exum endured a torn ACL during the off-season, ruling him out of the 2015–16 season,272273 Burke was expected to resume his role as a starter.274 However, Jazz coach Quin Snyder announced that Raul Neto would be starting over Burke to begin the season. According to NBC Sports' Kurt Helin, Neto, like Exum, was a better fit to start due to his pass first nature.275 On November 7, Burke scored 24 points with a career-high six three-pointers off the bench in an 89–79 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.276 On December 31, he scored a season-high 27 points in a 109–96 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.277 NBA career statistics Regular seasonedit Personal life Burke's grandfather starred at East High School in Columbus in the 1950s and his father starred at Eastmoor Academy in the 1980s before going on to set records at Northwest Missouri State University. Three former Northland teammates are current or former Big Ten competitors: Sullinger (Ohio State), J. D. Weatherspoon (Ohio State) and Javon Cornley (Indiana, football).20 See Also *Burke Family *Gallery:Burke Family *Gallery:Trey Burke Notes External links *Burke stats at ESPN *Burke @ MGoBlue.com *Burke's AnnArbor.com archives Category:NBA players